The arrival of the iPhone is the latest example of the upgrade cycle that drives our consumer society. It promises the latest in features and technology. It is quite possible there has never been so much excitement over a phone before. The new features it promises, whether we need them or not, are the hook used to capture new customers. But do we need these features, and will we use them?
In a world in which we already have too much ‘stuff’, it is questionable whether we are really improving the quality of our life by persisting with the cycle of upgrades that manufacturers stimulate. The number of ‘early adopters’ out there — those people who have to have the latest and greatest — seems to grow exponentially.
Writing in the New Yorker in late May, James Surowiecki described a phenomenon he called ‘feature creep’. Feature creep is the stealthy (and sometimes not so stealthy) proliferation of extra functions on a given device. Mobile phones are a prime example.
Originally they were used to make phone calls. Then they could send text messages. Then they had cameras. Then infrared, Bluetooth, internet access, keyboards, a personal music player. Next, according to Nokia, will be a Global Positioning System (GPS) installed in every device, so we know where we are, and can track our friends too.
The iPhone, as far as these things go, is actually not as feature-rich as some devices. Reviewers have noted that the iPhone has 'only' 16 functions. But will people actually use all 16 of these functions?
The build-up to the iPhone launch was overwrought. First there were rumours at Macworld, Apple's annual gathering of developers. Then iPhone was announced in January by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at MacWorld. Then there was a pre-release build up. Then the ‘final week’ build up. Then, finally, exaltation!, as pictures emerge of ecstatic early adopters rushing into and out of stores.
Some critics declared that it was the near-perfect phone. Steve Jobs declared, "[The] iPhone is like having your life in your pocket." Perhaps for some people Nirvana is attained by having access to music and an address book at the same time. But if this is so, what does it say about one's life? One wonders how long it will be before the "Man declares love, marries iPhone" headline appears in browsers and papers everywhere (with accompanying footage of said man listening to his betrothed as he walks up the aisle).
Surowiecki quoted a University of Michigan report that says,